AP World History Chapter 9- Vocabulary Terms

Charlemagne

(742-814) King of the Franks (r. 768-814); emperor (r. 800-814). Through a series of military conquests he established the Carolingian Empire, which encompassed all of Gaul and parts of Germany and Italy. Though illiterate himself, he sponsored a brief intellectual revival

Medieval

Literally “middle age,” a term that historians of Europe use for the period ca. 500 to ca. 1500, signifying its intermediate point between Greco-Roman antiquity and the Renaissance

Byzantine Empire

Historians’ name for the eastern portion of the Roman Empire from the fourth century onward, taken from “Byzantion,” an early name for Constantinople, the Byzantine capital city. The empire fell to the Ottomans in 1453

State established at Kiev in Ukraine ca. 879 by Scandinavian adventurers asserting authority over a mostly Slavic farming population

Schism

A formal split within a religious community

Manor

In medieval Europe, a large, self-sufﬁcient landholding consisting of the lord’s residence (manor house), out-buildings, peasant village, and surrounding land. In India, grants of land given in return for service by rulers of the Mughal Empire

Serf

In medieval Europe, an agricultural laborer legally bound to a lord’s property and obligated to perform set services for the lord. In Russia some serfs worked as artisans and in factories; serfdom was not abolished there until 1861

Fief

In medieval Europe, land granted in return for a sworn oath to provide speciﬁed military service

Vassal

In medieval Europe, a sworn supporter of a king or lord committed to rendering speciﬁed military service to that king or lord

Papacy

The central administration of the Roman Catholic Church, of which the pope is the head

Holy Roman Empire

Loose federation of mostly German states and principalities, headed by an emperor elected by the princes. It lasted from 962 to 1806

Investiture Controversy

Dispute between the popes and the Holy Roman Emperors over who held ultimate authority over bishops in imperial lands

Monasticism

Living in a religious community apart from secular society and adhering to a rule stipulating chastity, obedience, and poverty. It was a prominent element of medieval Christianity and Buddhism. Monasteries were the primary centers of learning and literacy in medieval Europe.

Horse Collar

Harnessing method that increased the efﬁciency of horses by shifting the point of traction from the animal’s neck to the shoulders; its adoption favors the spread of horse-drawn plows and vehicles

Crusades

(1096-1291) Armed pilgrimages to the Holy Land by Christians determined to recover Jerusalem from Muslim rule. The Crusades brought an end to western Europe’s centuries of intellectual and cultural isolation

Pilgrimage

Journey to a sacred shrine by Christians seeking to show their piety, fulﬁll vows, or gain absolution for sins. Other religions also have pilgrimage traditions, such as the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca and the pilgrimages made by early Chinese Buddhists to India in search of sacred Buddhist writings